Scottish Midwife Faces Canadian Immigration Hurdles

0:00A Scottish midwife named Heather Gilchrist has faced repeated setbacks in her bid to work in British Columbia. After a decade of experience in the United Kingdom, she finished a special bridge program at the University of British Columbia to get accredited, here. But Canadian immigration officials denied her work permit twice. First for lacking in English test, even though she's a native speaker from Scotland. She quickly fixed that issue by submitting the test, only to get rejected again. This time, federal authorities won't accept the UBC program as qualifying for the permit. With no options left, Gilchrist has a flight book for April 4th to head back home. The denial hits harder than just one person. This UBC bridge program, started in 2015, is the sole path for internationally trained midwives to certify in the province. More than 80 have graduated, and most are now delivering care across British Columbia and Canada. The idea of British Columbia officials call it a mix-up by immigration authorities and

1:02provided a letter supporting her application. But immigration, refugee, and citizenship Canada won't say if they recognize the program, despite questions from reporters. Experts like immigration lawyer Will Tau warned this could worsen British Columbia shortage of obstetrics care, making it tougher to bring in needed. Midwives Gilchrist just wants a fair shot to care for families here, as promised when she arrived. You've been listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news.